Zero: Rise of a Demon
by Certified-Rebel
Summary: Michael is 18 going on 19. He is bullied at school, and takes it out by belonging to an underground fight club. After finding out a demon is residing inside of him, he summons him out at the park, resulting in a climactic ending.


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Michael stirred in his sleep as visions flashed through his mind like a merry-go-round. White long silken hair took up the whole screen. The view panned out and showed a girl standing alone in an abandoned school playground. She stood still and was surrounded in a White aura. Leafless and withered trees surrounded the area. Their rotting leaves dropped one by one, slowly floating to the ground where they crumbled. The sky above was Gray and lifeless with White clouds that barraged the ground with Black, skeletal lightning. A shadowy figure was standing not far off. A burst of flame and the girl fell to the floor, dead, a pool of Crimson blood surrounding her torso by her heart. A chilling and whispered voice spoke out into the darkness.

"_Use me. Use me._" Michael saw a pair of Black eyes. A vision of his long lost younger brother, Jessie, flashed before his eyes before his vision ended. He screamed in his sleep and his body thrashed on his bed as if he were having an epileptic episode.

"No! Melony!" He screamed. He saw a flash of White and his eyes burst open as his head shot up from his pillow in anxiousness. Beads of sweat poured from his forehead. He gazed wildly around his room in an effort to save her but it was only a dream. He breathed in and out and slowly calmed himself.

"Only a dream, fuck." He wiped his forehead with his arm and glanced at his dusty drapes, which let in only slits of sunlight. "Damn it, that's the third time this month. It's getting worse."

He got out of bed and pulled open the drapes closing his eyes as the brightness filled his room. As his Blue eyes adjusted to the light they slowly opened. A voice from below screamed up in aggravation.

"Michael! Get your ass out of bed! You're going to be late for school!" Damn. She was always like this in the morning. It really pissed him off. She wasn't even his real mom. He yelled back at her.

"I'm already up! I'll be down in a sec!"

"Well hurry up! Your father hates waiting!" She called back upstairs to him. Michael threw on a pair of Black jeans and put his Black "Senses Fail"shirt on. He quickly combed his Black hair over one eye like he'd seen so many times on TV. Many people thought of him as being Emo. Like he cared. He grabbed his backpack and headed out while he locked the door behind him. He ran downstairs and dropped his bag by the front door.

A second later he was in the kitchen, but didn't get very far before a blur of White hair came crashing into him.

"Michael! You're up! Yay!" It was Melony's greeting for Michael. She loved him to death. Michael gave her a tight squeeze.

"That's right you little annoyance. I'm up now. How'd you sleep?"

"Oh I slept awesome! I had this dream where I was riding a pink pony and it was so pretty!" His sister was nine years old and number one in his life. He loved her to death and would do anything for her. The television blazed on in the living room, and a reporter was announcing strange occurrences in the weather all over the city.

"Go sit down you crazy girl." He chuckled and playfully pushed her to the table casting a quick glance at the TV.

"Ok." She replied. They both sat at the table and got their breakfast ready. His foster father, Steven, of course had his usual Bud Light in front of him and was chugging it down. What a fat ass he was. Michael really hated his guts. He had never treated him or his sister right. He was unclean, wore a ragged Red shirt tucked into denim jeans a size too big on him held up by a brown leather belt.

"Finally up eh? Lazy ass." He chuckled drunkenly and took another chug of beer.

"Shut up Steven." Michael replied sarcastically. His foster mother Rachel, was no hot stud herself. She was tall and skinny. Way too skinny, like those actresses you see on television that starve themselves and slab on make up. It was really disgusting.

Michael was 18, a senior and living with foster parents along with his younger sister. It sucked big time but Melony made it all worthwhile. As soon as he finished high school he was out of there with his sister. He would never look back. As far as Michael was concerned, all they did for him was provide shelter, food and school.

"Better get going Michael and take your sister with you, you know the drill." His father told him.

"Yea, yea." Michael replied, hurriedly finishing his cereal, as was Melony. She got up laughing and bounded to the front door with Michael following close behind. They both grabbed they're bags and headed out, closing the door behind them. They lived on one of the bigger houses on the street. His step mom worked for some big Hollywood company. Did he forget to mention that? They lived in Hollywood in Los Angeles. His dad was unemployed as far as he knew. The School bus for Melony's Middle School came first. She went to Charleston Middle School and he went to Blackford High. After seeing her on and waving goodbye, Michael's bus came not too long afterwards. He got on and was applauded with jaunts and jeers. The usual. Fucking assholes. He ignored everything and went directly to the back to his seat in the corner by the window where he always sat. He got out his iPod and put on some rap while the bus took off. The ride was about 15 minutes.

While passing by the streets, he looked out the window and noticed a flock of crows take off from the trees. How odd. There were no crows living in California anymore. They had gone extinct years ago, in 1999 he thought. Well any way it was at least 10 years later. How strange to be seeing them, and so many of them at that. The rest of the ride passed by smoothly, that is if you count some dumbass telling him not to be so queer. Whatever. He didn't even respond. The bus came to a stop outside the school and dropped them off. Michael was last to step off. The bell rang. Shit. He was late for first period. While walking to his locker, Samson and his posse of idiots were right there waiting for him. Shit, he thought to himself. I'm not in the fucking mood for this right now. "Go away Samson, not in the mood right now." Michael said quite tersely.

"Oh I'm sure your not queer ass. But see I don't care if you're in the mood or not." The other three chuckled. "See I had this idea Calvahomo-" Michael cut him off.

"It's Calvahone jackass."

"Whatever. You're still queer." Samson replied derisively. "Any way, I had this idea. See I like where your locker is. It's right next to my classroom. I was thinking maybe you and I could switch lockers? Come on, whaddaya say?"

Samson gave him an evil grin.

"Go away Samson. I'm not giving you my damned locker. I gotta get to class. Now move outta my way." Michael walked right up to Samson and attempted to shove right by his shoulder but Samson, with a quick hand, shoved him backwards. Michael was pissed off by now and it could be seen quite clearly in his face.

"Now, now queer boy. Class can wait. I want your fucking locker. So move your stuff or me and my boys will have to take what we want. And you don't want that." Michael suddenly burst out laughing. He grinned and replied.

"Oh yea? And what exactly would happen if I decided to, say, not move my stuff?" Samson and his three buddies moved in closer. It was clear that a fight was about to commence.

"I think we'd have to kick your ass." Michael continued grinning.

"Come on now, you know full well I can beat the shit outta all four of you. I can take down five guys at once." With that Samson decided to throw the first punch. With quick decisive movements, Michael quickly dropped his backpack, slammed his fingers into Samson's outstretched arm in his nerve points causing him to scream out in pain. With that he bent his arm backwards and forced him to the floor. Samson's friends quickly backed off. Michael let go of his grip on Samson and left him there in pain. What he had just performed was a martial arts move designed to cause as much pain to your opponent as possible. There were different moves in order to carry this strategy out. He sighed and went to his first class. The day went by as normal. At 2:30 the bell rang for the final time signaling the end of school. Michael walked to the bus pickup spot and waited for the bus to come. Five minutes later it arrived and everyone piled on. Absently thinking, he remembered his birthday was in two days on Sunday and he would be turning 19 years old. It was July and the school year was over in a few weeks. His birthday was July 15th. He wasn't looking forward to it. There wasn't much too much to look forward to.

The ride back wasn't exciting except for a few spit wads spat in his direction and some name calling. 15 minutes later the bus dropped Michael off a block from his house. Five minutes later he was joined again by his sister Melony as she ran towards him happy as ever. "Michael, Michael! Guess what!" She ran and jumped into his arms where he caught her and swung her around once and then placed her back down.

"How was school hun?" Michael asked.

"Oh it was so fun today! We started making cardboard scenes for a play we're going to be putting on. It was so fun!"

"Oh wow. That sounds awesome Mel!" Mel was one of his nicknames for her. He had called her that since she was born. They both walked together into their house once Michael had punched in the code to the lockbox, which held the key. Judging from the lack of cars in the driveway, it was apparent that neither parent was currently home. Well it was better that way Michael thought. At least no one will bother him for a while. He made sure Melony was taken care of and then went into his room and shut the door. His room was like most other rooms in terms of size. Not too big but at the same time not too small either. He had band posters, even some Anime posters littering every inch of his wall and ceiling. He had a small cable television that he kept in his closet. His foster parents didn't even know about it simply because he never let them into his room, and they knew better then to ask. He took his laptop to his bed, lay down and logged onto the wireless internet. He took his stereo remote and switched on the radio to a rap station. Several hours later he checked the clock. Rachel should be home any minute; it was 11:00 already. At that moment the front door slammed shut and a familiar voice rang out through the house.

"Michael! You home?" Michael turned down his stereo.

"Yea I'm up here!" Michael's phone rang. A huge argument had finally won him that privilege and he never took it for granted.

He picked up his phone. "Hello?" A moment or two later: "Tonight? You sure? All right, all right calm the fuck down! I'll be there. Count on another win bro, later." He hung up his phone and sighed. He called down. "Hey Rachel! I'm hanging out with the guys tonight! I'll be back late!"

"Fine just be in before 3!" She yelled back. Well that was easier then he thought. He went into Melony's room and kissed her goodnight. He told her he was going out for a bit but he'd be there tomorrow. It was a good thing tomorrow was Saturday. He went back to his room and changed his clothes. Under his bed there was a loose floorboard hidden beneath the carpet. It was locked shut. He opened the lock and took out a set of clothes that were neatly folded in a plastic bag in a metal box. He took everything out and laid them on the bed. First to note was a pair of Black karate style pants, which he slipped on. He put on a pair of Black and White sneakers and tied them up. He then put on a White, well fit, short sleeved shirt. On the back was the image of a Black dragon. The words Black Dragon Fight Club was seen clearly in Japanese style lettering. On the front was also a Black dragon and on top was the title of Club Star Champion. It was a prize shirt won by him after many fights. Oh, didn't you know? Michael belonged to the Black Dragon Fight Club. Located underground and very secret. He was the star fighter and the call he had just received was his friend letting him know that he had been challenged by the champion from Eagle City, the next city over. He was coming to face him one-on-one.

Once his shirt was in place, he removed his Black, finger cut fighting gloves that were worn from use but were Michael's favorite. He considered them lucky. He strapped them on and flexed his fingers a bit to get the feeling back. Last time he fought was three weeks ago. There was big money involved and that was where he got most of his cash. He hated begging his step mom for the Green. That done, he threw on a jacket to hide his shirt and he walked out of his room and went out the front door letting it slam behind him signaling to his step mom that he had left. He walked around the house, entered the garage through a side door and switched on the light. On the right side was where his foster father parked his crap mobile. His foster mother usually parked the Mercedes in the driveway. This suited him just fine. On the left side, sat a sleek Black racing motorcycle. One that he would proudly announce to anyone that he had built it from scratch. It harbored one of the fastest engines around and had excellent traction. He opened the garage and mounted his ride. He started the ignition and walked the motorcycle out to the driveway. He closed the garage, gunned the engine and sped off down the street in a blur.

He reached downtown in less than 10 minutes. A few minutes later he turned into an empty parking lot, turned his bike off and left it. He walked up to a dingy looking apartment building where all the lights were off and stopped at the front door. On the wall to his right there was a call panel with buttons. He pressed the bottom button which had a name labeled "The Parkinson's." A few seconds later a voice from the speaker spoke. "Who the fuck is it?"

"It's the Black Panther." Michael replied. The Black Panther was his fight club name. The speakerphone went off. Two minutes later a tall and muscular African American was at the door. His skin was almost completely Black and judging from his accent he was probably Jamaican. He was wearing similar clothes as Michael only his fight club was The Blood Fight Club and it was appropriately Red in color. Also, a bloody knuckled fist replaced the Black dragon that was on Michael's uniform.

"My name is Cedric. I'm the one who brought in your challenger tonight. He is known only as the Eagle of Fire. Let's move." As they were walking, Michael saw Cedric reach his hand into his pocket and watched him more closely. It was common for the champion's agent to escort the main fighter of the city down to the fight, however it was more common that the agent would kill the fighter before he even got there and hide the body. If the star never showed, the win was automatically given to the opposing champion. Still wary, Michael silently followed Cedric to the hidden elevator behind an alley wall. He was grinning in anticipation. He was in need of delivering a good ass kicking. A code panel was next to a door that led into the side of the building. If removed another button was shown. It was Red and almost invisible. Cedric pressed the button and the garbage dump behind them lifted upwards on a slab of thick concrete revealing three steps leading down to an elevator. They both went down to it and the garbage dump closed behind them as a flickering lamp above turned on. Yet another coded pad lay next to the elevator doors. Cedric punched in the code and the door opened. They both stepped in and Cedric pressed the only button available, the down button.

Once the elevator doors opened, the noise that greeted them was almost unbearable. This fight club also served as an underground nightclub, but for tonight, the only music playing was heavy metal and rap. The first thing to notice was the sea of multicultural muscular men, some them shirtless. People were chugging beer and talking or yelling. The air was thick with smoke from cigarettes and weed. The room was dimply lit and completely covered with soundproof material. It was wide in order to contain at least a hundred people and it was definitely packed tonight. The room went silent as the elevator doors opened. Like Moses and the Red Sea, everyone split the room in half leaving a path clear to the person in the middle of the room. Here there was a circle drawn on the floor for the fight to take place. On one side of the room all of Michael's buddies and fans were cheering for him as he passed by. He gave a special hand shake to his close buddies, The Fireman and The Rock Monster. The Fireman being known for his ability to make his opponent burn all over his body, and The Rock Monster for having the largest muscles in the group. They clapped him on the back, egging him on. On the other side were Cleo's friends. They were booing Michael and egging on Cleo. Compared to Cleo, he had to admit he did look rather small. Cleo was also Black. He wore the same Red clothing as his associate Cedric, except on his shirt he had a star in the middle of the fist on his shirt. This signified that he was the star fighter in his city. Michael reached the ring and stepped inside. Once inside you were not allowed out. If you left the ring for any reason you lost the match. The ring was a little more then 20 feet all around so there was enough room for the fighters. There were no rules except one: no weapons of any kind. It was all brute force and skill here. Michael was grinning. He couldn't wait to get this shit started. There was only one way he was leaving this ring. Cleo would have to kill him first.

Cedric entered the ring next. He was there to referee the fight. Like wrestling, if you kept your opponent down for three hits to the floor you won. That was it. The crowd surrounded the circle and started hollering and cheering, booing and cursing both fighters. Michael took his fighting stance. He kept his hands up and his feet spread apart. Cleo roared and launched into attack with a roundhouse kick to Michael's head. Michael responded immediately by ducking down and sent two swift kicks to the underside of his leg causing Cleo to lose balance slightly, but he quickly regained his footing and launched a barrage of punches to Michael's gut, sending him to the floor. Fuck, this guy had power. Cleo was obviously stronger then he looked. Michael grunted and jumped back to his feet as fast as possible. If you lost yourself for even a second it was all over.

Cleo came at him again but this time Michael was prepared. He threw the same barrage at him as before but Michael anticipated his strikes and blocked most of them. He grabbed one of his arms and bent it with a quick strike to his nerves sending Cleo to the floor. Michael then came to his stomach and kicked him sending him sliding across the ground. Michael's buddies all pointed and yelled at Cleo. He cursed at them and flipped them off causing laughter to ripple through the crowd. He spit on the ground and got his hands back up. Michael was already there with a kick to his legs and then just as fast he struck out at his head. Cleo caught his foot and bent it behind his head causing Michael to scream out in pain and fall to the floor. He grunted through it and got right back up with a throbbing leg. Michael was sweating profusely at this point and the air around him was starting to affect his mind as he started getting high off of it. He closed his eyes and focused. He opened them again ready as ever. For some reason his leg seemed to be feeling better. He stretched it out and it snapped, like when you crack your knuckles. Now it felt perfect. He grabbed his head in pain. A headache? Now? Damn it! He backed up hard and his buddies were pushing him forward, cheering him and telling him to go on and finish the fight. He screamed and rushed forward and aimed a punch to Cleo's head. Cleo moved fast and kicked him in the stomach sending him reeling. He got up as quickly as he could. God damn it! My head! I can barely see! He felt it again, that other presence. It was as if someone or something else was sharing his body.

Cleo was on him once again and started punching his head. Michael felt his head swimming and he fell over. Blood poured from his mouth and Cleo backed off and started laughing. "Some fighter you are. You gonna die here boy if you keep fightin' like that ya know? You're no Black Panther. You're a Black Mouse." Cleo's friends roared in laughter. With those words Michael's face went blank. He got up slowly and his eyes narrowed in anger. His Blue eyes turned Black. The blood stopped dripping from his mouth and he wiped it away looking like some epic warrior. When he spoke, as much a surprise to himself as it was to anyone else, his voice sounded like two people were speaking. The second voice sounded raspy and deadly. With both voices being used Michael's voice sounded quite demonic.

"_Die? A pathetic mortal like you could never kill me. The only one going to die here is you."_ Just as fast as it had come, it went away. Michael went wide eyed and covered his mouth. What the fuck had just happened? He sounded like some fucking demon right there. It didn't matter. He felt stronger and that was all he needed to continue. He grinned and beckoned Cleo to bring it on. The crowd surrounding them cheered. To them it seemed as if Michael was using some sort of new special affect in sound to scar Cleo off. How wrong they were. Cleo launched himself once again at Michael and Michael did a floor spin kick causing Cleo to lose balance completely and fall to the floor headfirst. Michael then kicked his head hard and knocked him out. Cedric bent down.

"One, two, three! Cleo is out. Michael is the winner!" The roar of people cheering was almost deafening as everyone crowded Michael clapping on the back. They lifted him up, ignoring Michael's insistence that he'd prefer to remain with his feet on the floor, and carried him to the front of the club near the elevator. They watched as Cleo and his group left, cursing and arguing amongst themselves on how Michael was probably on steroids. Michael's group celebrated by pouring shot after shot of liquor down Michael's throat. Though he should have gotten drunk, he remained surprisingly sober throughout the entire ordeal. Michael took out his Red RAZR phone and checked the time. Fuck, it was almost 2:30. He hadn't realized that his fight had lasted so long. He announced that he had to leave and the guys moaned their displeasure. "Don't worry boys. I'll be back for the next fight don't worry!" He waved goodbye to them and headed for the elevator. He pressed the call button and stepped inside when it came. The doors closed and a few minutes later Michael was looking back as the dumpster moved back into place hiding the entrance to the fight club. He looked at his watch again and quickly made his way to his motorcycle. He slid into the seat, turned the key and sped off. He made it home in eight minutes tops.

He cut the engine and walked it up the driveway of his house. He manually opened the garage door slowly, so as not to wake anyone up from the noise. He led his bike into its position and closed the garage door behind him. He opened the lock box by the front door and stepped quietly into the house. Ever since the Bobby twins escaped from prison last year, everyone was told to keep their keys inside one. The twins apparently enjoyed pick pocketing, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. It was silent inside the house so he assumed no one had woken up. He went upstairs and into his room closing the door behind him. He stripped to his boxers and hopped into bed. He was asleep within a few minutes. He awoke to Melony clamoring on top of him. He groaned sleepily and opened his eyes a bit. She was sitting right on top of him smiling her biggest smile yet. "Morning sleepy head!" She happily announced.

"Ugh, what time is it Mel?" Michael yawned groggily and sat up while Melony moved to the edge of the bed and plopped down.

"It's a half past 10." Shit, only ten? Why did she have to wake him up so early, and on a Saturday at that?

"Listen Mel, why don't you go downstairs and I'll be down in a couple more hours eh? Cut me some slack it's Saturday."

"No can do." She replied huffily. "It's late enough as it is and breakfast is on the table. Now move it mister!" She lightly punched him on his shoulder and proceeded to jump on him until he got out of bed.

"Ok, ok! I'm getting up, Sheesh!" Michael told her.

"Good." She said. She then left him in peace while he slowly got out of bed. He stood up and yawned again. He did a few stretches and shook the sleepiness out of his eyes. He threw on a pair of clean jeans, combed down his hair and slipped on an AC/DC tee shirt. He put on a pair of sneakers and logged onto the Internet with his laptop to check his email. Once finished he headed downstairs closing the door behind him. He walked into the kitchen and saw that his parents had already left for the day. Melony had kindly set the table and had made eggs and toast for them both. Two glasses of orange juice sat by both plates. She smiled as he walked in and sat down. They didn't converse much as they ate. Michael hated talking while eating; he preferred to eat in silence. Once they finished Michael thanked his little sister for making them both breakfast. "Anything for you big brother." She smiled and cleared the table. Michael insisted on washing the dishes. Once he had finished he put them away.

"What do you say we go to the park tomorrow for my birthday hun?" Michael asked his little sister.

"Oh I'd love to! That'll be super fun!" She replied happily. Michael smiled and lifted Melony up onto his shoulders while he carried her laughing back upstairs. The rest of the day passed by without much more excitement. Unless you call watching your foster mother purging her lunch in the bushes exciting. Michael decided to go downtown and ride around for a bit. He got on his motorcycle, opened the garage door and walked it out. He closed the door behind them and sped off. He reached downtown and was passing by Sun Street when Michael inadvertently glanced to the right and heard the muffled screams of a man down a side alley. He parked his motorcycle on the street and walked slowly up to the entrance to the alley and saw a man in a Black leather coat with a ski mask pulled over his head. It seemed the thug was roughing up a pedestrian for his money. Shit, he thought. Thinking quickly, Michael picked up a large rock and threw it at the masked man and it hit him square on the head. The man shoved the man against the wall sending him to the ground injured. He turned around and pulled out a gun. "What the fuck do you think you're doing eh hombre? Think you're some kind of hero or shit? Better get back or I'm gonna put a lead bullet in your brain eh?" It was obvious from his accent that he was Latin.

"Hell no! I'm not going anywhere. Put down the gun and scram jerk off! Leave this man alone!" The thug wasted no time and pulled the trigger. Michael's eyes went wide as time seemed to slow down. He actually saw the bullet coming towards him. Shouldn't I be dead right about now? What the hell is going on here? How can I see the bullet come at me? Michael thought to himself. How do I even have time to think these questions? His eyes went Black once again and there it was, that feeling as if another person was controlling his body. He watched as his arm rose in front of him and his palm opened wide. The next thing that happened was impossible but happened anyway. Time seemed to speed back up as the bullet slammed against his open palm. Michael brought it to his eyes and saw that the bullet and been crushed flat leaving his hand unharmed. He shook it off and glanced back to the thug. The thug backed up a few feet.

"What the hell? What the fuck are you, a freak?"

Without realizing what he was doing, Michael let loose a demonic grin, he even felt his two top teeth lengthen. As before when he spoke, it sounded like another being was speaking out of his mouth aside from his own voice. _"Stupid human. Did you really think something as pathetic as a gun would cause harm to me? You know not what you stand up against!"_ With that, Michael jumped high into the air, something he could never have done on his own. Landing in front of the masked man he slammed his fist into the side of his head swatting him into the adjoining wall as easily as a fly killing him instantly. Michael blinked and his vision grew dizzy. His eyes returned to normal and he grabbed the side of his head, but was never able to utter a sound as he collapsed to the ground due to a massive headache that overloaded his senses.

"Kid! Hey kid! You ok? Wake up buddy!" Michael's eyes fluttered open and were not able to see much as his vision was still blurry. It slowly cleared and he saw the pedestrian slapping his face trying to wake him up.

"It's ok man. I'm ok, I think. Fuck, my head kills. My body feels like it's been hit by a truck." What the fuck had just happened? With the help of the stranger he shakily stood to his feet and then quite suddenly he felt perfectly fine as if nothing had happened. He glanced in the direction of the thug and backed up, his eyes wide. What the hell had he just done? What was he!? The stranger insisted he take him to a hospital but Michael refused by shaking his head hard repeating "I'm fine" a few times. He turned and ran back to his motorcycle. When he got home the first thing he heard as he walked into the door was the television reporting a storm coming in later the next day. He then heard Rachel's pathetic screaming of, "why were you late" and "where the hell have you been for the last several hours." As usual Michael waved her off with a "whatever" response and hurried up to his room, while Rachel annoyingly persisted that he tell her where he had been. Michael was pretty sure she would never believe him anyway so he just ignored her. He went into his room and sat down on his bed where he placed his head in his hands. What the fuck was happening to him? Where did these headaches come from and why were they happening? Why did he feel like there was some other presence inside of him? He didn't get any of it. It really pissed him off. He finally sighed and lay down on his bed. He stayed like this in his thoughts for some time. At 11:30 he fell asleep. A pair of Black pupil eyes interrupted his peaceful dreams and Michael was seen standing beneath them as they gazed down above him menacingly. Michael built up the courage and screamed up at them. "Who are you!? What are you!?" The eyes diminished in size gradually until they were the same size as Michael's. A face finally followed as well as a body. The most interesting thing to note at first was a Japanese style Katana sword that was strapped on his back. The sword was held within a Black sheath and was about half the length of his body. He was the same size as Michael and wore slightly baggy Black jeans held up by a Black belt. His Black shirt was short sleeved and bore skull and crossbones. His shoes were sneakers and he wore a chain necklace that bore two crosses on it. His hair was a bit shorter then Michael's and was worn straight down so that the tips of his follicles were directly above his eyes. His hair was also jet Black. He wore a grin upon his face and began to speak.

"_My name is Zero._" The first words that entered his mouth were so chilling that Michael grew wide eyed and fearful and had even taken a few steps backwards thinking that he might very well die right here. Zero's voice was indeed demonic and evil sounding of the highest degree. It was raspy and whispered yet sent chills down his spine. Michael was pretty sure that Zero could cause anyone to run in fear simply by bearing down on them with his voice alone. Although he had taken a few steps back initially, he again grew the courage to step back up.

"Zero?" Michael responded annoyed. "What kind of a stupid name is that?"

"_Be patient, I am going to explain what is happening to you and why I am here._"

"Yea right. Let me guess, you're here to tell me I've gone bloody fucking insane right? Or better yet, you're my inner conscience!"

"_You idiot! Be quiet and listen. As I said, my name is Zero. I am a Demon of sorts…" _Michael cut him off.

"A demon? What the fuck? You're joking right?"

"_I assure you I am not. But fear not." _He cracked a wide grin revealing two elongated upper teeth._ "I only kill those unworthy of salvation._ _I am the essence of every single bit of hatred, sadness and pain in this world and universe. That is what I protect. That is what my title signifies. Zero, or lack of, goodness and so forth. Every 100 years I am sent on a mission to inhabit the body of one human who greatly resembles this idea. My missions differ from one to the next. My powers up until now were not yet fully formed and I have been in training for millennia. After many years, I have finally evolved into the person you see standing before you. My true form is only visible through means of dreams and visions, unless I am able to possess and share a human's body. The time has come at last and I have chosen you Michael. You are the symbol that greatly resembles the ideas from which I am formed."_

"Sent on a mission? Sent by who exactly? And why would you inhabit someone in the first place?" Responded Michael suspiciously.

"_Why, the Satan himself of course! Undoubtedly you have many questions, but I assure you, all will be revealed at the proper time. With my abilities and powers, along with your body, we can do great things! Will you let me show you? Will you join me!?_"

"Well look, I don't even know if any of this is real. I mean shit, how do I know this isn't just some messed up dream? How about I wake up and think about it." Michael responded a bit sarcastically. To his amazement, Zero nodded his head and vanished. A moment later Michael opened his eyes to bright light shining through his dusty window drapes. He was sweating all over and panting. What the hell had that been? Was it just another vision? It seemed so real. He quickly got out of bed and opened his window. Aside from all of that, he realized that today was his birthday. What fun.

He quickly got dressed and headed downstairs. As he entered the living room he saw Melony glued to the television watching Sunday morning cartoons. She switched it off as she saw her brother come downstairs and ran up to him and gave him a huge hug. "Happy birthday Michael!" She then proceeded to sing him "Happy Birthday" while he smiled rhythmically waved his fingers as if they were conductor sticks. "Oh! I made you a cupcake brother. Come see!" Michael laughed and followed her into the kitchen. He saw his foster parents sitting at the table, Steven was drinking a beer, and Rachel was eating a slice of toast with a glass of water, truly revolting. Next to Rachel sat a plate with a cupcake on it that said happy birthday big brother in Red icing as well as a candle placed lopsided on the top.

"Oh that's right, today's your whatchamacallit right? You're 16 now?" Steven drunkenly managed to form syllables and spit out words. What an idiot.

"No, you dumbass, it's my birthday, and I'm 19. I wouldn't expect either of you to remember."

"Yes, happy birthday I suppose." Rachel boringly droned. Michael sat down while his sister watched him eat his cupcake. He gave her another hug.

"My sister and I are going to the park." Steven waved his hand off to the side as if he didn't care. Rachel didn't even respond. As he approached the front door, the television was on again, and another news report was being given. The newsman was outside and going crazy. It seemed that crows were being sighted all over the place. Regardless of this impossibility, people were seeing them everywhere. The odd thing was that these birds had eerie Red eyes instead of their normal Black eyes. In addition to the crows being sighted, it was noted that tensions were increasing between America and Germany. He shook his head in amazement. As he passed by a side table by the wall, he opened a drawer and pulled out a throwing knife. He casually slipped it into his back pocket. He led his sister out to the garage where he got on his motorcycle and made sure she held on tightly. They sped off in the direction of the park at high speed. The park was actually an extension to an old school playground. It was wide and Green with trees scattered all over, much like a miniature forest right smack in the middle of town. The reason the school had shut down was because the neighborhood had gotten out of control with violence, sex and drugs. There had been a huge commotion a few years back and every major news station in the state had covered it. They ended up barricading it shut for a year until most of the thugs had been put behind bars. Now the school was empty and dusty while the playground was rusted and turned into a park. It wouldn't last very long. The entrance to the park was rather overly fancy if you asked him. Michael always thought the city should spend its money in a better way. There was a small wooden picket fence that surrounded the entire park. At the entrance there was a wood gate and a stone archway was built over it. On both ends of the archway there was a small flat stand where twin lion statues stood facing each other. Michael parked the motorcycle on the side of the street right in front of the archway. Both he and Melony got off and entered the park, listening as the wooden gate creaked its way open.

Samson watched as they entered the gate. He was standing behind a tree on the other side of the street. This was his park. How dare that queer boy show his face here! The nerve! It was bad enough that he had to deal with him everyday at school with his weirdness, but now he had come to where his house was? And he had apparently brought his weird little sister! This wouldn't do. He went upstairs to his apartment where he lived with his parents. He had a few phone calls to make. After all, he wasn't about to let Michael leave here alive. He chuckled to himself.

After a few minutes walk into the small forest landscape, they came to a semicircle of an opening where the school building sat, its weeds overgrown, the front door off its hinges and its windows broken. It used to be the size of a normal campus, but the city had torn everything down except for the main building. After that all the grass surrounding it now had grown tall and wild and covered up what remained of the concrete. All except for the playground structures, which the city had apparently repaired after the years of abuse they had received. Michael led Melony around to the back where the playground was and she ran laughingly right to the Blue swing set, where she squealed in joy swinging up and zooming back down. Michael ran behind her and pulled her way back letting her swing back down. He spent some time doing this and after about 15 minutes she ran to the purple monkey bars and with some help from Michael, managed to get all the way across. Michael checked his watch and realized almost an hour had gone by. Melony quickly made her way to the bright Red slide and had fun running up and then sliding head first down.

The sound of a crash was echoed in the distance and the revving and rumbling of a car was heard approaching. Michael, unsure what was happening ordered Melony to hide behind the slide. She whined but Michael would hear none of it. Reluctantly she crouched behind the long Red slide and a moment later a huge Green truck bulldozed its way through the trees cutting down everything in its way. It's wheels were twice the size as a normal truck and in the back, sat a group of five teenage boys. All were dressed in gangster clothes and looked ready to kill. The truck screeched to a halt a few feet in front of them and who else but Samson jumped out from the drivers seat. The rest of the teens pushed and pulled Michael's motorcycle from the back and shoved it until it fell to the ground not caring one bit for it. They were planning on beating it later.

"What the fuck you think you doing here gay boy huh? Think you can just come into my hood and leave like it's nothing?"

Shit, thought Michael, not this idiot again. Hadn't he learned his lesson the first time? "Samson, what the hell are you doing here? You must be joking right? This is a public park! I have every right to be here."

"Oh no, no, no. It might be public but you're kind ain't allowed here. I'm not even gonna give you the chance to walk away! You thought it was funny huh? When you embarrassed me in front of my posse? You had a nice laugh did ya? Thanks to you they beat the shit outta me and left! I was lucky enough to find these nice boys here to join me. Thanks to you my own fucking neighborhood thinks I'm some sorta pussy now! You liked that huh? Had a good joke about it with your buddies?" He laughed maniacally. "Well now it's time to pay the price bitch! You can take down four guys but how about six eh?" Michael didn't know what to say. He tried to calmly talk to him.

"Listen, Samson. I didn't think it was funny ok? I just wanted you to leave me alone man, that's all. I didn't laugh about it, and I'm sorry your friends left you."

"Don't you fucking lie to me! I could have these guys beat the shit outta you right now!" Samson screamed back at him.

"Come on, Zero, where are you? I could really use some help here." Michael spoke softly to himself. He heard nothing in response. Had it all been false after all? Was it really a figment of his over creative imagination?

"What're you doing? Talking to yourself? Ain't no one here to help you now man. No one's out here but you, me and my group. Go round him up boys." He snapped his fingers and the group of boys went after him. Michael tried to throw them all off but eventually they managed to over power him and held him firm. No matter how hard he struggled he couldn't seem to break free. Samson walked out to him and then the worst possible thing happened. Melony ran out in front of Michael and had her arms spread open. She was wearing her straight auburn hair down. She wore a pink short sleeve shirt that read "princess" on the front. Over her shirt she wore a light blue hoodie that was worn open to read the shirt underneath. Her jeans were bootleg cut and fit her snugly around her hips. There were plastic gems embroidered all down her jean legs, which glittered in the dusty sunlight. She screamed at Samson.

"Don't touch my brother! I won't let you hurt him!" All six thugs burst out laughing. Samson called back to her still laughing.

"And what're you gonna do little girl? Scream at me until I die?" They all laughed again. He pulled out a brand new, shiny Ruger SR9 Pistol, cocked it and pointed it right at her head. Samson lived with his father, who had served in the army for years. He wasn't exactly the picture perfect army man they portray in the commercials. He was a strict father who was, in Michael's opinion, absolutely insane. Somehow, he had managed to obtain this pistol for his son to screw with. Samson's eyes were wide now, and it was obvious he was going crazy. The five other boys became uneasy. This hadn't been part of the deal.

"Hey man." One of the teens called out to Samson. "I didn't know you'd be brining a gun here."

"So what? You gonna leave now? Gonna pussy out? Huh!?" Samson screamed at him.

"Look, I came here to beat the shit outta this punk cuz he was messin' with ya, I didn't come here to kill nobody." He stated simply.

"Fine, fine! Get the fuck outta here! You know what!? All of you get out! I don't need you! I don't need anybody! I have this fucking gun! Better leave before I change my mind!" The guys holding Michael down shook their heads in disbelief. A couple of them whispered good luck to Michael as they left. They hopped back into the truck and disappeared into the trees. Melony was still standing unmoved and not scared in the least bit. Michael relaxed his muscles and then tightened them back up once shaking off the grip that had been placed upon him. "Well, well. Look what we got here. We got a queer boy, and his bitch of a sister! Ha!"

"Shut up!!" Michael screamed at Samson.

"Watch it boy!" Samson moved the gun to Melony's heart. "You wouldn't want her pretty face all screwed up now would ya?"

"Don't worry big brother. I'm not scared of him. He's just an idiot!!" Melony turned and said to Michael. She looked back at Samson and stuck out her tongue. "Fucking asshole!! Get outta here!!" Samson only laughed at this. Michael's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe his sister had just spoken those words. His chest began heaving in and out as his breathing grew faster. He was getting nervous. There must be something he could do. Wait! His eyes grew wide and fearful. This whole setting looked familiar. He remembered it but from where? He saw this exact setting. His dream! Shit! This was his dream! What was he going to do? If he didn't do something his sister was sure to be killed. Damn it! He felt so helpless! He closed his eyes. He slowed his breathing. Everything else seemed to follow suit. How strange. He sniffed. He could smell smoke, but from where? I noticed a Mexican restaurant on my way over here, but that's miles away. Yet, here I am smelling sausages and beans. He heard a snap and almost lashed out but instead of just hearing it he saw it within his mind. A deer? It had just stepped on a twig, but that was at least three miles behind where he was standing! How was he able to see it let alone hear it? It was then that he noticed the shadows. They stood out like a Black couch in a White room. He saw them, hundreds upon hundreds of shadows. They were everywhere! He had one, his sister had one, and Samson had one too. Not only that, but every single leaf, tree, bug, animal and even cloud, had a shadow. Of course he knew that but he could see them as clear as day. Not just that, he could feel them too! They were pulsating! As if they were alive but how was that even possible? He flexed his arms and noticed that his muscles had increased at least three times as much as they had been! Incredible! A pair of Black eyes opened up before him and Zero's voice spoke forth to him.

"_I see you are enjoying my abilities. Yes, I was here the whole time enjoying the confrontation. So, you have your worst enemy standing before you, and your sister is about to die. What will you do? I can show you the future, but the path you must walk on your own. I can help, but some things can't be changed. Now remember that knife in your pocket and kill this bastard!"_

With that, Michael found the courage to persist his battle and opened his eyes to take Samson down. He had taken knife throwing lessons at the fight club for quite some time, and he felt confident in his ability to hit his mark. He moved his left hand ever so slightly to his back pocket. That was his one and only mistake. Samson noticed his movement and took action.

"Wrong choice man!"

Time almost froze. Michael saw everything, yet he could not move from the spot where he stood. He could only lunge his hand forward in the hopes of an impossibly safe outcome to this situation. Michael let loose a silent scream for his sister as Samson pulled the trigger. A plume of fire burst forth from the end of his gun letting loose a small silver bullet shining in the fading sunlight. It seemed to take forever but Melony could only cover her eyes as the silver bullet struck her heart. She screamed in silence and turned her body in a half falling motion as she reached her hand towards her brother's own outstretched hand, knowing they would never touch again. The wind began picking up almost as if ignoring the fact that time was moving so slowly. The sky pounded with thunder as if it were a thousand marching bands comprised of nothing but drums. A single burst of Black lightning struck the ground between both outstretched hands in an instant of permanent separation. It lit a small bush on fire. The moment only lasted a second as Melony's eyes rolled into the back of her head while her body fell, light as it was, to the floor. Time sped back into focus as her body made a thudding sound as it struck the hard cold earthen ground with her hand still reaching for him. Michael's eyes followed the path of his sister's body in motion as it struck the dirt. His eyes were wide and his pupils were retracted to their smallest possible size. His body seemed to pulse as he no longer saw the present but was engulfed by waves of the past of his own memories when Melony was only a year old and he was only 11. The sounds of the past filled his head spiraling him further and further into his own head until a large courtroom was seen. The scene took place in New York City.

"No! I'm not going with them you stupid lady! You can't make me!"

The 11 year old boy was short and skinny. He had a cute boyish face with wide Blue eyes and a few freckles on his cheeks and nose. He wore a pair of jeans with a ripped hole in the right leg and he wore a Black Radiohead t-shirt.

"Now young man, you will do exactly as the nice judge says or else you will have to live in a home for orphans. Is that what you want?" The tall wrinkly woman was amazingly strong for her age and God knows she did look old. She grabbed the 11 year old Michael by the arm and dragged him, while she held a baby Melony in her arms to the suspicious looking man and women whose names Michael had already forgotten. The man was short and paunchy. The woman was the same. He wore a pinstripe suit; White shirt and Red tie with Italian loafers. He had slicked back hair and a plastic grin plastered on his face. She wore a hideous Red dress, globs of lipstick smacked onto her full lips and too much makeup on her round, pudgy face. Her hair was White and curly and she wore fancy Red high heels. Michael was straining and pulling to get out of the tall ladies grasp while reaching for his nine year old brother Jessie.

"No! I don't want to leave my brother! I won't go! I won't! I hate you!" He spat viciously.

"Too bad kiddo. These nice people only wanted you and the baby. You're brother is going to be sent to another country as requested by the judge. She feels he is much too violent to remain in the States. Now move along!"

Jessie was mirroring his older brother's movements and was pulling away from the grasp of a tall English woman who wore very strange clothing.

Tears streamed down Michael's young, boyish face. "No! I won't go! My mommy and daddy aren't dead! I don't believe you! They didn't die!"

The tall woman finally picked him up along with the baby and carried him kicking and screaming to the portly couple with fake smiles. The woman grabbed hold of the baby and the man took a firm grasp to the young boy's arm. Michael found the man's strength to be superb. He tried to move but his shoulder was squeezed so much so that it was painful. Little Melony began crying, and from across the room Jessie began kicking and screaming while his new British foster mother took him away. Jessie was then taken to England, and Michael and Melony were driven off in a fancy limo to Downtown Manhattan, where the tall skyscrapers were, and from what Michael had heard, was where Wall Street was located. The chauffeur drove in the front and Michael, Melony, and the older couple sat comfortably in the back. Michael had never been inside of a limo before but he didn't care at the moment. He was looking out of the window in the corner not speaking. After a while the woman took out a copy of the paper from last week. The front page held a picture of a crumpled car and a side story about it. She began reading out loud.

"Local car crash kills a couple after the front was completely totaled by an oncoming truck. The two children in the back, an 11 year old boy and a baby were miraculously unharmed, though the parents in front were killed instantly. Oh dear how tragic. And aren't we lucky Horace to adopt their lovely children? I've always wanted kids, as you know."

"Yes dear, as you've told me about a hundred times. It was lucky we were there to help when the accident happened. Imagine, we were coming down from Wall Street to try that lovely antique shop you found when a car crash interrupts it. Lucky it did. Too bad for the parents."

"Oh yes quite. But they were dreadful dressers you know. There's a photo of the woman. Just look at the awful dress she's prancing around in as if it was stylish…"

The scene dispersed and shifted forward in time where it was night fall and about three months after the adoption. Melony was fast asleep in her crib in the mansion where they lived. Normally Michael's bedroom was locked up at night but after a while of planning he managed to gather enough tools to silently break open his door. Where his sister's room was on the third and topmost floor, his own bedroom was on the second floor. The adoptive parents had intentionally separated them. It didn't matter. Michael didn't care. After making sure his adoptive parents were asleep, he snuck upstairs and slowly opened the door. It creaked open and startled Michael. He listened hard. He heard nothing. Whew! He crept up to his sister's crib and unhooked the railing that kept her from falling out. He slowly wrapped her in her blanket and picked her up. She stirred and started opening her eyes. Panicked, Michael rocked her until she fell fast asleep once more. Step one was done.

The scene dissolved and moved forward in time once again. This time, Michael and Melony were sitting by a train station. After stealing the combination from his fast asleep adoptive father, he broke into the family safe and stole several thousand dollars in cash from his wallet; he had taken a taxi to the Amtrak Station. The sign above the bench where he sat read 'Nonstop to Washington, Maryland.' As far as he was concerned a state away from here was far enough. The train came and he got on with his little sister in his arms as she snored sleepily, completely unaware of what was going on.

Time dissolved forward again. This time it was in Los Angeles California. After going through and running away from, several more adoptive families across the country, that was where they had finally ended up. It had been no easy task; Michael had learned to stick to the street finding shelter for them wherever he could once they would run away from the families that adopted them, not to mention avoiding the authorities. Michael was now 18 and Melony was eight years old. After spending some time at the police station, Steven, after being arrested for the hundredth time, saw the young girl alone sitting in a nearby chair. His wife Rachel had come to bail him out again. They inquired about her. Apparently she had an older brother whom they were keeping locked up in the back. The young man had been apprehended stealing food and alcohol from a liquor store. After running after him for several blocks they caught him picking up his sister from a hiding place. After hearing the story, Rachel told Steven that by adopting them, it would increase her popularity in her job since she worked in Hollywood. So the paperwork was signed and the past made contact with the present. The visions had lasted no more then a few moments.

A burst of energy erupted from Michael's body as the realization that his sister had just been shot in the heart turned to full blown anger. Michael's breathing began increasing. The wind was blowing harshly now with thunder and lightning creating symphonies of destruction. His eyes found no room for tears as they had turned an icy Black. The bush that had caught fire before had spread its flame to a tree, which had spread it further and further until there was a wall of falling burning trees behind him crackling in anger and spitting up sparks of anguish. As his breathing increased, this created a force of energy around his body, which caused electrical shocks of Black energy to jump from his muscles and torso. The wind picked up dirt and rocks, which flew in all directions. Samson witnessed all of this and backed up. He fell to the ground and his eyes grew wide in fear.

"W-what the hell is going on!? You're fuckin' crazy man!" He pointed his gun and fired multiple shots at Michael. Michael was generating so much energy from his body that the bullets were stopped dead several feet from him by striking an energy force field that was being produced. They fell harmlessly to the floor.

"Jesus Christ! I'm getting' the fuck outta here!" Michael widened his eyes as electricity jumped from his body in pure rage. His gaze alone could turn fire into ice.

"You…FUCKING BASTARD!! You'll PAY!!" Michael placed his hands on his head. A voice rippled across the Blackening sky like God himself calling for the Apocalypse.

"Use me! Use me! Michael!"

"What the fuck was that!?" Samson looked up at the sky back and forth, frantically trying to find the source of this echoing voice. Michael's eyes turned completely White. He gazed up towards the Heaven's. His eyes grew wide as a Black whirlwind began forming around him, going faster and faster until it's gust was enough to move boulders with ease. Four huge chunks of earth exploded leaving four medium sized craters around Michael as he grabbed the side of his head.

"ZERO!!" He would scream the utterance of the name Zero, as it echoed around the area. Black lightning would strike the four craters covering him completely causing the ground to fall apart beneath their feet, as chunks of rock would be blown into the air.

"_Yes!! YES!!"_ The voice, which resonated from within the whirlwind, laughed in delight. Meanwhile, Samson began running backwards, then turned around and began o sprint out of there as fast as he could. Unfortunately, for him, the burning trees had spread their fire and it now created a ring of flame that surrounded them both. The glow of the flames was reflected off Samson's body as he watched this transformation in total and utter fear for his life. As the Black curtain of electricity, surrounding Michael's body disappeared, a visible change had occurred in Michael's appearance. His heart had become completely Black. Michael's presence was still within the body, as it used his own mind, though it was within Zero's body. His hair had grown shorter and was now just above his eyes. His height had increased several more inches. He now looked to be in his mid 20's. He was a completely different person all together. A large Japanese Katana sword had appeared on his back atop a long Black leather trench coat that rested upon a Black shirt, which bore skull and crossbones. It allowed an inch of his waistline to be visible. The shirt accentuated his greatly increased, yet still slim, muscular physique. His eyes had become a bit more slanted and the top two teeth on his upper jaw had lengthened like on a vampire. His mouth was curved into an evil grin and a Black aura was encompassing his skeletal figure. His eyes appeared to be sunken slightly into his skull. He was wearing tight Black jeans held up with a spiked belt and wore large Black army boots on his feet. His pupils were Black and hollow. His voice was raspy and ghostly when he spoke.

"_I…am free…"_ He laughed causing Samson's hairs to stand on end. An enormous flock of crows screeched overhead from behind the school building as the old, broken tower clock chimed 12 o'clock, though it was not at the right time. The wind died down considerably as did the lightning strikes. Samson was still wide eyed as he looked upon this new figure standing before him with pure terror in his eyes.

"Wh-who are you?"

"_My name…is Zero…"_ His voice was like the icy chill of winter. His breath reeked of rotting carcasses and blood. Samson could smell it all the way from where he was on the ground.

"What happened to Michael?"

"_Oh don't worry. Michael is still here. Unfortunately, you won't be for much longer…."_ As he responded, Samson noticed that the tall warrior's voice seemed to be mixed of two voices creating a demonic effect. _"You took my sister's heart, and now I am here to take yours!! Prepare to suffer eternally in the fires of hell!!"_ Zero withdrew the Katana from behind his back making a pinging sound as it was unsheathed. He then placed it, threateningly to the side but slightly in front and placed directly at Samson. Once it was still the blade created a Black aura around it. Samson got up and started running; though there was nowhere to really go. Zero vanished into the shadows on the ground and emerged, tall and frighteningly, from Samson's own shadow. This caused Samson to stumble and fall backwards, but not before Zero caught him by the neck and suspended him high above the ground with apparent ease.

"P-please! Have mercy! Don't k-kill me!" Samson spoke pleadingly up to the tall demonic warrior.

"_Show you mercy!? You don't deserve mercy!?"_

Samson gave a scream as Zero raised his Katana high into the air.

"_SOUL STEALER!!"_

Zero screamed the name of one of his signature move to literally steal one's soul from them and use it as a way to become stronger, as he launched Samson into the air and watched as Samson's body fell upon the sword and it plunged directly into his heart. Samson's mouth opened as the sword pierced his skin and he coughed up a mouthful of Crimson blood, which splattered over the sword and over half of Zero's face. Zero grinned opened mouthed and maliciously as if he enjoyed it. In seconds a Black aura emerged around Samson's body, and was drawn up into the sword and into Zero's own body. This caused Zero's aura to increase momentarily and then return to normal. Samson's body then fell limp as he hung on the sword, devoid of life. Seconds passed which seemed to last forever, while the wind howled and lightning struck with terror. The ground then opened up beneath him and the roar of some enormous beast, larger then life, emerged from the hole. Seconds more passed and then a huge fiery hand shot upwards, engulfing Samson's lifeless body and withdrew, along with the corpse, back into the ground. The ground closed and all was eerily quiet except for the soft rumbling of the clouds. Zero sighed heavily and returned his sword to its sheath while the blood slowly dripped from his face. He stood only a few seconds more until the Heaven's split opened wide and allowed a torrent of tears to fall upon the Earth below. As if his body was made of wax, Zero seemed to melt away into the ground leaving only Michael's body, as it had appeared before he had transformed, behind as he gasped and looked around wild eyed. What he had just done was incredible, and he still felt Zero's presence inside of him. What surprised him the most was that he cared not one bit of all the things he had just accomplished. It was an amazing feeling having so much power. He loved the feeling, the rush it gave him. At least he had not been lost within himself.

After a moment or two, he rested his eyes upon his sister's lifeless body. In seconds, feelings of loss and sadness overwhelmed him. In all the action, he had forgotten his sister had just died. He walked over to her, knelt to the floor and wept. He cried so hard that not even the torrent of rain could come close. He couldn't believe it. The one person in the world that he cared for was lost forever to him, never again to smile upon him. She was his angel, and now she was gone. After several minutes he gathered himself together and began to think. He needed to bury her. That was the most appropriate thing for him to do. He closed his eyes and reached out his hand searching. Finally seeing it, he summoned it to him and a rusted shovel burst out of a nearby shed and into his open hand. He then began to dig. After almost an hour of perilous digging he finally achieved a grave. To be honest it looked more like a poorly dug hole in the ground. Not perfect, but it would have to do. The rain began slowly letting up as the sun barely crept passed the grey streaks of clouds that hung over head, creating a spotlight effect which rested lightly over the freshly dug grave. He picked Melony up and let her body float slowly down to the ground as the sun finally gave in to the clouds and disappeared once again allowing a light drizzle of rain to continue pouring down to the ground.

After another half an hour he covered the hole and plunged the shovel right into the ground to mark the place. He didn't know what to do anymore. His only real life had been ruthlessly taken from him. A normal person might have stayed by the grave and maybe say something, anything. He was lost for words and even if he could have said something he didn't really believe in God anyway so he felt it wouldn't do any good, though if it turned out there was a God, he hoped his sister had gone to Heaven. He simply turned and gazed behind him into the old shell of the school. He looked back to his motorcycle on the ground, picked it up and brought it into the shelter of the empty building, but not without much effort. It had been damaged when it fell. He turned and gazed out from the doorway of the building. He knew what his next step was. The visions of the past that he had witnessed served as a reminder of his long lost brother Jessie. He needed to find and save him from whatever peril he was suffering through. He sighed and walked down the long empty hallways of the school building. For now, this was to be his new home. The view began swiftly panning backwards through the clouds and the scene went Black.

TO BE CONTINUED...


End file.
